Skov: "We're taking a step forward every week"

Robert Skov: "In my view, we produced a very good performance. It was very important after our recent matches that we returned to winning ways. We need to give everything in every game; we did that on the pitch today. However, Schalke also had chances – and then a game like can also turn out differently. But we deserved to win. We're taking a step forward every week. It is of course a nice feeling when I can help the club and score twice from the spot. They were my first penalties in the Bundesliga. I try to do my thing, it worked out well with the two penalties today. It'll be a very different game in the cup on Tuesday; it'll start from 0-0 again."

Christoph Baumgartner: "We set our sights very, very high; we absolutely wanted to win. We managed that and absolutely deserved to do so in the end. You can see how much quality we have in the squad – individually, but as a team too. You can see that something is building, but we need to keep our feet on the gas now. One can't ignore the fact that we also had a bit of luck in one or two situations today. But that's part and parcel of it all – and if we take our opportunities too, then we have a team that is to be reckoned with."

André Breitenreiter: "We played a good game and deservedly took the lead. Unfortunately, we then became too passive and allowed the opposition back into the match. Then we had a bit of luck that we survived several moments without conceding a goal. We defended better in the second half, gave little away and scored the goals at the right moments. We created a lot of chances for ourselves with simple, short sequences and good positional play. Now it's all about making even better use of these opportunities. I'm happy that we kept a clean sheet and also scored three goals. We worked very well as a team. This spirit that we've developed sets us apart."

Frank Kramer (FC Schalke 04 coach): "We're of course disappointed. I think the team invested a lot of energy into the game. We played with courage and pressed early. That led to a great deal, but then we conceded the goals at unfortunate times. We coped well with the first setback. In the second half, we wanted to stay in it and level it up. After the third goal, Hoffenheim were very good and businesslike."

Match facts and statistics »